Kick-Offs are perfect; everyone is happy, and everything is going perfectly – nothing has gone sideways at this point.
Optimism flows endlessly.
But then the project starts, and over time, the optimism and happiness of the kick-off fade away.
On a long-running project, you need to work to recapture that kick-off energy; you need to keep it going when times are tough, and reality has started to set in.
There are a variety of options for how to recreate that kick-off energy;
- Get everyone back together – over time, we all drift in and out of projects; get the team back together and get them refocused.
- Reset the priorities – re-establish what is in, and what is out; if there has been scope creep, clean it up.
- Resize – if the project has become too big, split it up into what makes sense and what is manageable.
There are probably many more ideas (outside of throwing a party), but to capture the essence behind the original kick-off – “Everyone believed in it, everyone was on board” – whatever you do, that is your goal to move the ball forward once again. If your mid-project kick-off does not satisfy those goals, then it’s an empty suggestion and motivation that will need to be re: applied in the next few weeks.